Post by Ace on Jun 28, 2006 11:34:18 GMT -5

PIERCE: “Butterfly on a Wheel,” this thriller that we’re going to try and do. It’s a tight little piece. We’re going to shoot it in San Francisco. We have a film called the “True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle” with Danny Devito and Morgan Freedman. Danny adapted the book. It’s a period piece in set 1832. Danny wanted me for the role of captain and asked me to produce it. Hopefully, we will go off to New Zealand and make it.

Told in the form of a recollection, these "confessions" cover 13-year-old Charlotte's eventful 1832 transatlantic crossing. She begins her trip a prim schoolgirl returning home to her American family from England. From the start, there is something wrong with the Seahawk : the families that were to serve as Charlotte's chaperones do not arrive, and the unsavory crew warns her not to make the trip. When the crew rebels, Charlotte first sides with the civilized Captain Jaggerty, but before long she realizes that he is a sadist and--the only female aboard--she joins the crew as a seaman. Charlotte is charged with murder and sentenced to be hanged before the trip is over, but ends up in command of the Seahawk by the time it reaches its destination. Charlotte's repressive Puritanical family refuses to believe her tale, and the girl returns to the sea. Charlotte's story is a gem of nautical adventure, and Avi's control of tone calls to mind William Golding's 1980s trilogy of historical novels of the sea. Never wavering from its 19th century setting, the novel offers suspense and entertainment modern-day readers will enjoy. Ages 11-13.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8. On a long, grueling journey from England to Rhode Island in 1802, a 12 year old changes from a prim and proper girl to a swashbuckling mate of a mutinous crew and is accused of murder by the captain. Awash with shipboard activity, intense feelings, and a keen sense of time and place, the story is a throwback to good old-fashioned adventure yarns on the high seas.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

Post by Ace on Sept 6, 2007 13:09:19 GMT -5

If you thought Johnny Depp was the world’s unlikeliest buccaneer, just wait’ll you get a load of Dakota Fanning in “The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle,” enthused director Danny DeVito.

The movie, an adaptation of the book by author Edward Irving Wortis (better known by his pen name Avi), centers on the adventures of a 19th Century 13-year-old girl, who must forswear her ladylike upbringing when confronted by intrigue and danger on the high seas.

“[Dakota] is a very proper girl who is thrust into a situation where she has to take this ship and there’s a mutinous crew on board — all sorts of intricate loyalties, and storms, and gunfights,” DeVito excitedly revealed about the set-up for the upcoming flick, for which he is currently “working on storyboards,” he said. “It’s really cool stuff.”

Many daring escapades follow (which we wouldn’t dream of ruining for those not familiar with the book). DeVito says he plans on including all of them. “I’ll be pushing the envelope as usual,” he declared. “It’s a movie I’d love to take a kid to [but] it’s not just for a kid. It will probably be a PG movie - edge of your seat PG.”

Joining Dakota in her journey across the Atlantic will be an Oscar winner and a super-spy, DeVito revealed. “Morgan [Freeman] is the captain, captain Jaggery [and] Pierce Brosnan is Zachariah, the ship’s cook, surgeon, and carpenter,” he said.

The book won just about every children’s literature award known to man. Have you read it? Think it’ll make a good flick? Sound off below.

DeVito wrote the script, an adaptation of the bestselling young adult novel written by Avi. The film is in pre-production and will begin shooting in September.

Ronan will play a daring girl who makes a transatlantic crossing in the 1830s from England to America, and finds herself caught between a ruthless captain and a mutinous crew.

HandMade Films will finance production along with Gotham-based property and hotel group Plaza Productions International. HandMade Films International will handle worldwide sales, and CAA is repping domestic distribution rights.

Pic will be produced by Michele Weisler, Lori McCreary, Beau St. Clair and Patrick Meehan. Thomas D. Adelman and Hawk Koch will be exec producers.

Also producing is DeVito's Jersey Films 2nd Avenue, Freeman and McCreary's Revelations Entertainment and Irish DreamTime, the company run by Brosnan and St. Clair.

DeVito, who will not appear in the film, returns to young adult fare for the first time as director since "Matilda," the 1996 adaptation of the Roald Dahl novel.

Ronan, who was Oscar-nominated for "Atonement," plays the central character in the Peter Jackson-directed "The Lovely Bones."

Post by Ace on Jul 16, 2008 17:18:44 GMT -5

Danny DeVito will direct "The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle," and has set Morgan Freeman, Pierce Brosnan and Saoirse Ronan to star.

DeVito wrote the script, an adaptation of the bestselling young adult novel written by Avi. The film is in pre-production, with shooting to begin in September.

Ronan will play the title character, a daring teen who makes a trans-Atlantic crossing from England to America in the 1830s and finds herself caught between a charismatic but ruthless captain and a mutinous crew. Brosnan will play the captain and Freeman plays the ship’s cook, who guides the young woman through the journey.

HandMade Films will finance production along with Gotham-based property and hotel group Plaza Productions Intl. HandMade Films Intl. will handle worldwide sales, and CAA is repping domestic distribution rights.

Pic will be produced by Michele Weisler, Lori McCreary, Beau St. Clair and Patrick Meehan. Thomas D. Adelman and Hawk Koch are exec producers.

Also producing are DeVito’s Jersey Films 2nd Avenue, Freeman and McCreary’s Revelations Entertainment and Irish DreamTime, the company run by Brosnan and St. Clair.

DeVito, who will not appear in the film, returns to young adult fare for the first time as director since "Matilda," the 1996 adaptation of the Roald Dahl novel. He’s worked on the script for several years.

"Like ‘Matilda,’ this had topnotch moral lessons in terms of choices that a 13-year-old girl has to make," DeVito said.

The films he’s directed have usually had a dark edge, but he’s mindful of his target audience.

"I want edge, in terms of keeping you on the edge of your PG seat," he said. "You always want to push to the limit, but I want people to know I’ll take care of the audience like I would my own children."

HandMade’s Meehan, who’s prepping "Eloise at the Plaza," said that the four-year effort to make "Charlotte Doyle" has fueled passion among the participants.

Post by Lauryn on Jul 17, 2008 14:09:39 GMT -5

It does look like DeVito is really keen to make this movie, and not let the project die on the vine. It may not suit his style as well as Matilda did, but one thing the two stories seem to have in common (though I haven’t read the adventuresome Avi book) is a rather tough, unsentimental view of childhood.

No matter how well “Charlotte Doyle” does theatrically, DeVito and Brosnan, et. al. can count on boffo DVD sales to libraries, unless it’s really poorly reviewed. The book is on required summer reading lists for schools all over the country and movie versions are dear to the hearts of those kids who want to cheat and not have to read the book. Librarians don't mind looking the other way, especially if their library charges a DVD rental. <wink>

Post by Ace on Aug 5, 2008 11:37:31 GMT -5

Production on the indie The Confessions of Charlotte Doyle was scheduled to start next month, but that may not happen for a reason you’ve probably heard about by now. Morgan Freeman, who was set to co-star in the film with Pierce Brosnan and Danny De Vito, is scheduled to undergo surgery for injuries suffered in a car accident late Sunday night in Mississippi. Freeman was reported to be in serious condition yesterday, but the latest reports suggest it’s not quite time for the actor to start making out his bucket list. (I know I promised I wouldn’t make that joke, but as it turns out, I’m completely shameless.) According to his publicist, Freeman “has a broken arm, broken elbow and minor shoulder damage, but is in good spirits.” Variety reports, “None of his other projects are expected to be affected. Freeman will star in The Human Factor, the Nelson Mandela bio that Clint Eastwood is directing for Warners, but that shoot isn’t skedded to begin until early next year.”

Post by Ace on Aug 6, 2008 16:37:55 GMT -5

Inside Moves [Daily Variety]

08/05/2008 00:01:00 AMReed Business Information

Over the weekend, Morgan Freeman became the second star in a week to suffer serious injuries behind the wheel.

The busy thesp, cast in several upcoming projects, was driving in the Mississippi Delta late Sunday when he went off the road and landed in a ditch after his car flipped several times. He remained hospitalized Monday at a Memphis area hospital with a broken arm and elbow.

His injuries could throw a monkey wrench into his next project, "The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle," an indie skedded to begin lensing next month. Freeman was lined up to co-star with Pierce Brosnan in Danny DeVito's bigscreen adaptation of the Scholastic tome; Freeman is also co-producing under his Revelations banner, which he runs with Lori McCreary. A rep said filmmakers are still determining the impact of Freeman's injuries; the 71-year-old thesp was skedded to undergo surgery.

None of his other projects are expected to be affected. Freeman will star in "The Human Factor," the Nelson Mandela bio that Clint Eastwood is directing for Warners, but that shoot isn't skedded to begin until early next year. He also has several projects awaiting release, including the Yari Group's "The Lonely Maiden" and Nu Image's "The Code." Another potential project, "Memory of a Killer" for Focus, is still in script stage.

The crash trapped Freeman and a female companion inside the car, but he was alert and joked with rescue workers and looky-loos who tried to take photos of him at the scene. Police said there were no indications alcohol or drugs were involved in the crash.

A contract is near completion to use the U.S. Brig Niagara in a movie that director Danny DeVito plans for the big screen.

"We're getting close, real close," said Barb Johnson, director of the Flagship Niagara League. The league is the nonprofit support group for the ship and the Maritime Museum on Erie's waterfront.

But Johnson said, "It isn't a done deal until I have a signed contract and check."

DeVito, who has twice scouted the Niagara, plans to adapt for the big screen the popular book for young adults "The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle," a novel about a 13-year-old girl who boards a ship for a voyage from England to Providence, R.I., in 1832.

DeVito is scheduled to direct Morgan Freeman, Pierce Brosnan and Saoirse Ronan, who is cast as the title character. DeVito won't appear in the film.

But the Oscar-winning Freeman on Aug. 3 was involved in a car accident in which he suffered a broken arm and elbow and other injuries.

"We're still hoping that Morgan Freeman's injuries will not preclude him from starring in the movie," Johnson said.

Johnson said that if a deal is signed, production might be pushed back a few weeks in September to allow Freeman to continue with his recovery.

"The only thing I know is that he's healing nicely," Johnson said.

The contract for the ship's use would be signed with the Niagara League.

The money would be used to help "significantly plug" the ship's $100,000 shortfall for the 2009 sailing season, she said.

Sailing to other ports is an important revenue source for the state-owned Niagara. Walter Rybka, senior captain and site administrator for the museum, has said that a typical three-day port visit brings in about $30,000 in revenue.

The production would mark the second time this year that portions of a major movie have been filmed in Erie.

Actor Viggo Mortensen, other cast members and crew were at Presque Isle State Park in April to shoot scenes for "The Road," the adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's Pulitzer Prize winning book.

Filming of DeVito's movie would take about seven days on Lake Erie, Rybka has said.

But the real-life decision to pull the plug on the movie that was supposed to be shot on the U.S. Brig Niagara in Erie is turning into something of a mystery.

Director Danny DeVito had twice scouted the Niagara for the screen adaptation of the novel that's popular with young adults.

Niagara officials had prepared for the production crew and cast to arrive sometime in September.

They received the signed contract last week. This week, they got a deposit check for the fees that the movie crew would pay for using the Niagara and crew.

Then, just like that, Walter Rybka, the ship's senior captain, received a call from co-executive producer Howard "Hawk" Koch Jr. saying the movie deal was off.

"It's a bummer," Rybka said Friday.

Rybka said Koch called to say he had bad news -- the plug had been pulled on the movie, and any work being done in preparation for the film was to stop.

"He didn't have an explanation to offer. He sounded very disappointed himself," Rybka said.

The call was brief because Koch planned several other calls to stop work, Rybka said.

Rybka and others involved with the Niagara aren't sure if the project has been pulled entirely or if filming has been postponed.

A postponement would make sense, given that one of the stars, Academy Award-winner Morgan Freeman, is recovering from injuries he suffered in a recent car accident. The movie also would star Pierce Brosnan and Saorise Ronan, who landed the title role of the 13-year-old girl who boards a ship for a voyage from England to Providence, R.I., in 1832.

Ronan was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in "Atonement."

The Erie Times-News' calls seeking comment from producers and a lawyer involved in the project were not immediately returned.

"We don't have a reason. We're just sitting here, scratching our heads wondering what ... happened," said Bill Welch, president of the Flagship Niagara League, the ship and Maritime Museum's nonprofit support group.

Rybka, who got the call late Thursday afternoon, said he got no indication that filming would take place elsewhere.

"Earlier that day, I had different production people calling with questions about sails and props. As of that morning or earlier in the afternoon, their people were in full go-ahead mode. This came as a ... sudden surprise to everybody," Rybka said.

Rybka said he doesn't know if Koch knew the reason. "His job at the moment was to give me the bad news and go on to give it to the next person," he said.

Rybka said it wouldn't surprise him if Freeman's injury led to the decision. "But I don't know. It's speculation," he said.

Niagara officials expect to hear a further explanation and whether production could start later.

"I tend to believe it's canceled, but I hope it's postponed," said Rybka, also site administrator for the museum on Erie's east bayfront.

In the meantime, Niagara officials will have to figure out how to make up a $100,000 gap in funding for the 2009 sailing season.

Depending on the number of filming and rehearsal days, the Niagara potentially could have grossed "well over" $100,000 in the deal -- though it would have used some of that money to pay crew and make alterations to the ship, Welch said.

"Obviously, there would have been a profit for us, too -- now that's gone, and our big worry is next year," he said.

Welch said the Niagara might be able to keep some of the deposit check, but most of the money would have come later.

Barb Johnson, director of the Niagara League, said the league will have to regroup and look for other revenue sources. Money is now raised through sail training programs, educational day sails, port visits and memberships.

The Niagara, which will be in Cleveland next weekend, is due back in Erie on Sept. 1.

Niagara officials, meanwhile, are holding out hope that production on the movie could be renewed in spring.

LONDON – U.K.-based sales and finance banner Intandem is tasked with raising financing for Danny DeVito’s The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle.

DeVito’s return to directing for his adaptation of the Newbery award-winning book of the same name is boosted by a cast boasting Morgan Freeman and Pierce Brosnan.

Producers said the role of Charlotte Doyle is currently being cast.

“I’m delighted that Morgan Freeman and Pierce Brosnan have remained committed to play the two lead adult characters,” DeVito said. “I’m looking forward to casting Charlotte in what is an amazing role for a teenage actress.”

The book details the story of Charlotte Doyle, the young daughter of an aristocrat who has lived a very sheltered life, who sets out from Liverpool on a trans-Atlantic journey to her new home in America.

She finds herself the only passenger – and the only girl – on the Seahawk, a majestic ship under the command of Captain Jaggery and the tale is billed as a story of intrigue on the open sea.

The film will be produced by DeVito, Lori McCreary for Revelations Entertainment, Michele Weisler for Clear Black Films and Beau St.Clair for Irish DreamTime in association with Subotica Films.

It is set to start shooting in Ireland in 2012.

Intandem Films will handle international sales and will also be working together with the producers in closing the financing for the film.

Post by piercebrosnanhot on Sept 25, 2011 7:49:25 GMT -5

DeVito bringing Morgan Freeman and Pierce Brosnan to Ireland for next filmIn news announced at the Toronto International Film Festival this week, Danny DeVito is set to direct his next feature film ‘The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle’ in Ireland in 2012.

The producers of the project have also announced that the film will star Morgan Freeman (The Dark Knight) and Pierce Brosnan (The Ghost Writer, Mamma Mia!) and will have an estimated budget of $28 million.

An adaptation of the original novel by author Avi (Edward Irving Wotis), the project is set in the 1930s, telling the story of young Charlotte Doyle and her adventures on the high seas with a ruthless captain and a mutinous crew. We at JOE have our fingers crossed that we may see Brosnan in full pirate getup!

The film was originally set to shoot in the US but after meeting with Danny and his producers in LA, the Irish Film Board facilitated a location scout with him last Spring. We met again with Danny in May and are "delighted" that he has now decided to bring this $28 million feature film to shoot entirely in Ireland next year.

The spotlight has been on Irish film at the Toronto International Film Festival this week with Albert Nobbs, Death of A Superhero, The Other Side of Sleep and The Moth Diaries receiving much critical acclaim. ;D

Post by Ace on Feb 24, 2013 7:22:04 GMT -5

Danny DeVito is looking for the right young actress to star in his new movie.

The 'Twins' actor - who wrote, directed and starred in the big screen adaptation of Roald Dahl's beloved children's book, 'Matilda' - is hoping to adapt another young adult book, 'The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle', but despite the movie nearly being made twice, it has suffered several setbacks and he is now looking for a new young ingénue to star in the flick.

Speaking to BANG Showbiz during a media trip to London, he explained: ''I'm doing a new movie. I've been trying to do this movie for a while. We almost got it made but Morgan Freeman had a car accident and we had to pull the plug a couple of years ago.

''But we're going to do a movie not this July, but July 2014, called 'The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle'. I'm going to direct it. I'm not in it, but I wrote the screenplay from the book.''

Danny already has two Hollywood stars in place for starring roles - Morgan and Pierce Brosnan - but has not had much luck in finding a young actress to star after previously tapping Dakota Fanning and Saoirse Ronan for the titular role of Charlotte Doyle.

He said: ''I'm going to look for a little girl. I've gone through almost getting the movie set up with Dakota Fanning. The last one was Saoirse Ronan. That was the one we were going to start in New York a few years ago. Now she's a young woman. I need a really great 12-13 year old girl.''